2. The reconstruction averages 73 temperature proxies which are all over the map, numerically speaking. Some of the proxies show a rising trend; others are falling. Some show warming followed by cooling, others cooling followed by warming. Averaging this mish-mash gives, essentially, nothing — the “handle” of the new hockey stick.

3. It has been pointed out that 80% of the source data is for marine temperatures, so splicing on a land temperature record will show an abrupt change.

4. Steve McIntyre is already finding likely errors in the data. (I do commend Marcott et.al. for releasing their data, if not their computational methods.)

5. Marcott et. al. show the recent warming as starting 100 years ago, before the widespread (post-WW2) use of fossil fuels.

I find myself thinking that this paper was rushed to publication to make the March 15 deadline for inclusion in the next IPCC report…and, conveniently, after the deadline for comments on that report. (Yes, the IPCC allows new papers to be included after the review process is over.) So be prepared for a deluge of breathless “unprecedented temperature rise” claims after that report is released. But the fact is, the Marcott report does not support any such conclusion.